Friday, August 08, 2014Last Update: 8:03 PM PT

Donald Sterling Seeks Stay on L.A. Clippers Sale

Donald Sterling Seeks|Stay on L.A. Clippers Sale LOS ANGELES (CN) - L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling on Friday asked a state appeals court to issue a stay on the $2 billion sale of the NBA team. Superior Court Judge Levanas on Thursday issued a final statement of decision green-lighting the sale, brokered by Sterling's estranged wife Rochelle "Shelly" Sterling to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. But Levanas then vacated his own order, and the state's Second Appellate District on Friday denied Sterling's writ. "The petition is denied without prejudice to re-filing at the appropriate time in that presently there is nothing for this court to review," the appellate court ruled. In June, Shelly Sterling asked the probate court to confirm her as The Sterling Family Trust's sole trustee and to approve the sale to Ballmer under California's Probate Code § 1310 (b). The trust is the sole shareholder of LAC Basketball Club LLC, which owns the Clippers. On July 28, Judge Levanas issued a tentative oral ruling , finding credible Shelly Sterling's claim that she was a concerned wife who was acting on her husband's behalf when she consummated the sale. Attorney Bobby Samini, with Samini Scheinberg, said Sterling requested the stay pending the appeal's court review of Levanas' ruling. "A petition for writ of mandate was filed today by Donald Sterling in the Court of Appeal of the State of California, Second Appellate District. The writ seeks review of the trial court's ruling on various issues including the 1310(b) order and further asks for a stay pending the Appellate Court's review," Samini said. The Aug. 8 request for an immediate stay states: "Absent a stay from this court, the sale to Mr. Ballmer, by the modified terms of the Binding Term Sheet, is slated to occur no later than August 15, but could occur as soon as today; now that the final statement of decision has been issued by the trial court, the final order could soon issue as well. Once that sale goes through, Donald will have lost a unique and irretrievable asset: a 'trophy asset' coveted by high net worth individuals around the world - one of thirty NBA franchises in the country, and one that under Donald's thirty-year ownership has recently become one of the most successful." Sterling's public relations office said in an email on Friday: "When we were notified that Judge Levanas vacated his order, we immediately notified the Court of Appeal. As a result, the court of appeal summarily denied the writ citing the fact that there was presently no final statement of decision from Judge Levanas for the court of appeal to review. The denial was without prejudice, meaning the writ can be refiled when Judge Levanas enters the final statement of decision."